Incubator.



C. VON CULIN.

INCUBATOR.

APPLlcATloN FILED Nov, ls. 1914.

Patented N ov. 30, 1915.

Inventor: n. Q J..

2 SHEETS-SHEET l.

gli

c. lvoN CULIN.

INCUBATOR.

APPucATloN FILED Nov: I6, 1914.

Pfent'ed Nov. 30, 1915.

' 2 sHEETs-sHEET 2.

Inventor. W5 W Attest .A /f/ Y To all whom t may concern @En smits rares@ arri@ CLAYTONJVGN OULIN, OEVNEWVYORK, Y.

iivonsnfror..

Be it known that I, CLAYTON VON Gumia,

`a citizen of the United States, residing in the borough of Manhattan of the city of New York, in the State of New York,have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Incubators, of which the kfollowing is a specification, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, forming a part hereof.

This invention relates to incubators and liasfor its principal object to improve generally the construction thereof whereby the yhighest degree of efficiency is insured, re-

gardless of variable atmospheric conditions by which the operation of known incubators .i

is so seriously aifected'.

In an incubator structure, it is necessary to consider separately the heating means and l' @the Ventilating means, and yet these separate means must be, in a sense, interdependent and susceptible of coperation for maximum efficiency. Accordingly, in realizing the principal object of this invention, the heating and Ventilating devices have been improved for the purpose of performing their respective functions in the most desirable manner, and yet, these separate devices are embodied in the incubator in such krelation to each other as to subject the eggs to most advantageous incubating conditions, vat all times.

Another important consideration in the construction of an incubator is the elimination, to the greatest degree possible, of the personal factor which is always present where an attendant is necessary. n

It is an object of this invention to provide an incubator which shall be automatic in' its action and which shallinclude appropriate regulating devices, both for the heating means and for the Ventilating means, whereby the eggs are maintained at a kconstant temperature and are supplied withun.-

contaminated fresh air, Vthe noxious gases being drawn off continually as the fresh air4 tially to control the flow of hot air through the chamber andy by mounting within lthe chamber abaifle plate, so arranged with respect to the said draft member and the egg chamber as to cause the hot air to move -genspecifwanon of Letters Patent. Pawnee@ NMA 3Q, 1915 Application led November 16, 1914.V Sera1`-No..872,327v. i y i erally along any desired channels Vandtherevby subject the egg chamber or any portion thereof to ralessei' or greater heating action. Another object is to construct the lieatei in such manner as to adapt it for use as a nurseryafter the chicks are hatched.

in the bottoni of the egg .chamber and preferably directly below the` heat flue is formedy a Ventilating opening which is of such area as tovfurnishfthe eggs with plenty sage to the egg chamber.l

The character of the yinvention will be described moreparticularly with reference to the accompanying drawings, kin which- Figure l is a view, partly in vplan and partly in horizontal section of an incubator embodying the invention, parts being broken* awayf Fig. 2 Vis a View in transversevertical section showing the relation of the heater tothe egg chamber. Fig. 3 is a fragmentary Viewj in perspective of `the rear portion of the improved incubator, showing j particularly the Ventilating duct for the egg chamber 'and the baiiie in they heater. Fig. el is Vadetail view in perspective and on a somewhatv larger scale of the equalizer or y draft member. Y j

The incubator ispr'eferably constructed of sheet metal and has itsV walls a packed `with mineral wool b or other suitable insulating material, the frontwall being provided withv a suitable door dto aiord ready y access to theegg chamber, indicatedk generally at ci. The egg chamber d, it will be observed particularly, has no communication 'with the heating chamber c, but is separated therefrom by a horizontal partition a, formed integral with,`or carried by,

the walls a of` the incubator. While the character of the material used for the partition a. is not one of the ,essential vfeatures of the present invention, it' will be desirable in practice to have it of suitable radiating properties. hot air', through a flue f arranged to receive heated air from any available ysource of heat, such as a lamp g,-the latter being mounted The heater e is provided with conveniently at the rear sideof the incubator on a bracket hwhich maybe secured to the incubator. In eifecting the objects of the present invention, itis desirable that the heat flue fshallpass through the Vrearpwalls a of the incubator and discharge the hot gases into the heater e at the upper part thereof. Provision for permitting the egress of the gases is found in an equalizer or draft member, indicated generally at 7c, this draft member being disposed at the front portion of the heater and arranged to receive the gases at the` lowerpart of the heater, during normal operation. As will appear hereinafter, the draft member la is susceptible of vertical adjustment whereby the points at which the gases leave the heater may be varied as conditions of use require.

On the rear wall a of the incubator and in juxtaposition Vto the heat flue f, is hingedly mounted in a horizontal position, a baille plate Z which is susceptible of angular adjustment, as'through suitable thumb screws m, the free ends of which are exposed for. manual manipulation. The baille plate Z extends substantially across the heater e but is preferably of less than half the length of said heating chamber so ythat the path of the gases from front to rear of the heater, withrespect to the partition a, may be controlled, within limits. l

The eggs, indicatedatv n, may :be suported inthe emr-chamber CZ on a removable P ne egg tray 0,'the tray being formed las a lmoisture pan, whenv desirable. VOther means for lintroducing moisture into the egg chamber may be employed, however, as may be most convenient. The ventilatlon for the eggs is ,derived solely through .a passage a2 formed in the bottom ofthe egg chamber'and adjacentthe rear wall of the incubator, the cross .sectional area of the Ventilating passage being such as to permit a continual and ample supply-of lfresh .and uncontaminated air to lflow into the egg chamber, and the contaminated and undesirablegases, such yas car- .bonic .acid gas, to escape from the .chamber at ythe'same time. While the .passage a2 has been. indicated to be of substantially rectangularoutline and as extending entirely across theegg chamber, it is evident that a passage of the same area may be ,formed with a different outline, as where a ,number yof circular holes-are cut in the Hoor of `the egg chamber. However, it is oneof the important features of thisinvention to-provide a Ventilating passage of the .general character described above, which is disposed inthe `bottom of the egg chamber Iand at therear thereof, so thatthe fresh air shall pass upwardly into the chamber andthe gases shall iowldownwardly and outeofthe chamber,the ventilation being continued by convection through the greater density of the .gas in amanner ordinarilyiexperienced in ventilation.

`The -construction above described simulates more closely than anyknown structure, the actual conditions found where a hen is Vunder the feathers to escape.

inasmuch as one very advantageous condition has been realized in the improved inubator, to wit, the provision of a fixed and invariable ventilation for the eggs runder all conditions, it, of course, becomes necessary to maire adequate provision for compensation in the heating of the egg chamber, where the outside temperature or other con ditions require such compensation, the result sought being the maintenance of a fixed temperature in the egg chamber, this temperature being usually around 103 F. This compensation in heating is secured, to a limited extent, by initial adjustment of the draft member Zt' and the bali'e plate Z, more delicate control and regulation being insured at all times through a. thermostat 79 mounted in the egg chamber and connected, as through a rod 72', and weighted lever Q92, to a damper p3 disposed in operative relation to the source ofv heat g' and adapted by movement toward or away from the source of heat, under the action of the thermostat, to increase or decrease the flow of heated air into the heater e, as required.

Referring now particularly to Fig. et for a detailed description of the draft member 7c, it will be seen that the draft tubes It" are united with a "-bar c2, the latter having its supporting ange formed at its ends with protruding portions or feet Zea on which the ent-ire member is supported. Zhen the member rests on the feet 7c3 the heated gases pass under the lower edge of the flange 702 and out through the flues le. These lues project above the top of the incubator and are threaded, as at ist, to receive wing nuts 765 by which the elevation of the member c within the heater e ma;T be adjusted. Vhen the member is raised from the partition a', the heated gases pass freely under the Z-bar and upthrough the lines so that if the member is raised nearly to the top of the heater e the gases will pass from the heat iiueA f across the upper part of the heater e andout of the flues 7c without being deflected against the radiating partition a. If, .on the other hand, it is desired to raise the temperature of the egg chamber or to heat it adjacent its forward portion, the member 7c is lowered so as to rest on its feet las and the baille plate Z is adjusted to deflect the hot gases downwardly against the partition a. it this time, it will be evident that the baffle plate prevents the gases from coming into close Contact with the rear portion of the partition a', so that the eggs directly thereunder do not receive so much heat. Such an arrangement is particularly advantageous where it is desired to hatch duck which are defective, the defective eggs being replaced by good eggs. Under such circumstances, it is necessary to subject the substituted eggs to a greater heat than the others. This result will be attained by placing the substituted eggs at the front portion of the egg chamber and adjusting the battle plate Z in the manner described.

rllhe improved incubator, while having an egg chamber which is provided with only one Ventilating passage, is adapted for use as a nursery, by the provision of a flue y from the egg chamber to the atmosphere, this {iue beingnorinally closed by a suitable damper or plate g fastenedon the wall a of the incubator. By opening the damperl g the egg chamber may be converted into a nursery. ln like manner, the heater e may be used as a nursery by raising the member 7c to its extreme elevation. j

Changes in the constructiony may be made by those skilled in the art without departingV from the spirit of the invention, provided such changes fall within the scope of the appended claims. j

l claim as my invention :f-

l. An incubator comprising an egg chainber, a. heating chamber disposed directly thereover, a partition of radiating material disposed between said chambers to separate them absolutely, means for supplying heat to the heating chamber through one wall thereof, a single ventilating passage of predetermined area formed in thefioor ofthe egg chamber along the aforesaid wall, a horizontally disposed baiiie plate in the heating chamber hinged along the aforesaid wall and directly beneath the flue and devices for adjusting the angular position of said baffle plate with respect to the radiating partition.

2. In an incubator, a heating chamber, a flue disposed in one wall thereof to supply -hot air thereto and an adjustable draft member disposed along theopposite wall and adjustable verticaliy tovary ythe zone of n escape of the hot air, said draft member comprising a supporting frame, formed therewith and passing out through the top wall of the heating chamber,'and cooperating wing nuts carried by the tubes to permit the said vertical adjustment.

3. An incubator comprising an egg chamber, a heating Achamber disposed directly tlieieover, a.v partition of radiating material disposed between said chambers to separatek them absolutely, al flue disposed in one wall thereof and in the upper portion to supply hot air thereto, a horizontally disposed baille plate hinged along said wall and directly beneath the said flue, devices for adjusting the angularposition of said bafie plate with respect to the radiating partition, whereby the hot gases maybe deflect-ed toward or away from said partition, a. Ventilating passage fornied in the iioor of the egg chamber and along the same wall as that to which the said baflie plate is hinged, said ventilatiiig passage' being of predetermined area, and a thermostat disposed within the egg chamber and connected relatively with the source of hotair for the fine to control the supply. n

rl`his speciiication signed and witnessed this 2nd day of November, A. D. 1914.

CLAYTON VON CULIN.

Signed in the presence 0f- E. M. TAYLOR, WoRTHiNG'roN CAMPBELL.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents,

Washington, D. C.

tubes Y 

